How mountain bike experience gives Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel an edge on the road

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) has a special advantage over most of his rivals on the road – his mountain bike expertise. That’s the shared view of Eurosport’s lead mountain bike commentator Ric McLaughlin and cycling expert Dan Lloyd, who said that the British multi-discipline star is more likely to swerve danger on the bike because of his advanced skillset.

Ad “You really see the difference in the pro peloton between riders that have only ever done road racing and those that have got either a background in track racing, cyclo-cross or mountain biking,” said Lloyd on The Breakaway ahead of Stage 19 at the Giro d’Italia. UCI Mountain Bike World SeriesThe UCI Mountain Bike World Series unveils its flagship event in FranceYESTERDAY AT 16:15 “And I think Pidcock is a key example of that.

He’s just at home on his bike because he grew up doing jumps, just mucking around in the local park or woods. “It’s a bit like Peter Sagan.

They rarely crash and are always in the right place at the right time. That’s not by chance, he’s just so at home on his bike and able to do stuff that other people aren’t able to do.” Pidcock is one of the most versatile riders in the peloton and already boasts Olympic mountain bike gold, a cyclo-cross world title and victory on Alpe d’Huez after a descending and climbing masterclass at last year's Tour de France.

He enjoyed a stellar Spring Classics campaign on the road in 2023 as he took a brilliant solo victory at Strade Bianche and claimed podiums at Liege-Bastogne-Liege and Amstel Gold. The 23-year-old then shifted his attention briefly to mountain bike – recovering from a fall to win the UCI Mountain Bike World Series cross-country Olympic opener in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic – before refocusing